Screening camp finds 23 of 50 children with heart defects

Eastern Mirror Desk Dimapur, Sep. 29: In a startling discovery, 23 out of 50 children who were screened for heart ailments in Dimapur on September 29, were found to have heart defects. The ‘defects’ were discovered during a free screening event for children of the age group 0-18 years conducted by the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) of the National Health Mission in collaboration with Shija Hospitals and Research Institute in Imphal. The event was held at the Dimapur District Hospital and conducted in commemoration of World Heart Day. Medical officer of the RBSK, Dr. Kadila said that out of 23 patients, 16 of them were referred for treatment to Shija Hospital. “Regarding with further steps of treatment and surgery, maximum financial expenditure will be done through the RBSK programme but some amount will also be charged from the patient side,” Kadila said. She said that the cost of treatment varies according to cases and an accurate amount of fund sponsorship to patients cannot be divulged at the moment. A programme manager of the RBSK for Nagaland, Zale Khatso, said that the treatment concerned with 30 health conditions including congenital defects, developmental delays, birth defects, etc. She informed that the screening was the first of its kind in Dimapur this year. A similar screening event was conducted in Mokokchung and Kohima in July. Six from Mokokchung and 17 from Kohima of those screened were found to have heart defects, Khatso added. According to the World Health Organisation, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the number-one cause of death globally. More people die annually from CVD than from any other cause. In 2016, an estimated 17.9 million people died from CVD, representing 31% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% are due to heart attack and stroke, it stated.